AAP publishes 2012 childhood immunization schedule

AAP publishes 2012 childhood immunization schedule

.....The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a policy statement that changes vaccine recommendations for three vaccines: human papillomavirus, meningococcal and influenza.
The policy statement includes updated immunization schedules for three groups, which include children aged 0 to 6 years, those aged 7 to 18 years and a catch-up schedule for children with late or incomplete immunizations. 

The AAP now recommends that all boys aged 11 or 12 years receive the human papillomavirus vaccine in a three-dose series, and patients can begin the series at 9 years of age. The meningococcal vaccine can now be given to children aged 9 months if they are residents or travelers to countries with epidemic disease or at increased risk of developing meningococcal disease. In addition, routine immunization with meningococcal vaccine should begin for those aged 11 to 12 years, with a booster dose administered at 16 years....

Head and eye gaze dynamics during visual attention shifts in complex environments

...The dynamics of overt visual attention shifts evoke certain patterns of responses in eye and head movements. In this work, we detail novel findings regarding the interaction of eye gaze and head pose under various attention-switching conditions in complex environments and safety critical tasks such as driving...... These results demonstrate that measurements of eye-head dynamics are useful data for detecting driver distractions, as well as in classifying human attentive states in time and safety critical tasks.  ....

 Comments: To read the full article, click on the title above. DM

Do You Pin?

From the COVDBlog!

My colleague, Dr. Rochelle Mozlin, wrote this interesting info about Pinterest on the COVDBlog:

 

Social networking is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. Facebook is the grand daddy of social networking, but certainly not the only game in town.  Twitter, Google+, Flickr, Four Square, LinkedIn, Instagram ……. you get the idea.   If you think these social networking sites offer more than enough ways to share everything you think, say and do, then you have not discovered Pinterest.  Pinterest is the newest fastest growing social networking service.  In fact, it is red hot, with over 10 million visitors per month....

Comment: Click on  the Do You Pin above to read the whole article. DM

Why The Middle Finger Has Such A Slow Connection

 .....The researchers set subjects a simple task to measure the speed of decision: they showed them an image on a monitor that represented all ten fingers. If one of the fingers was marked, the subjects were to press a corresponding key as quickly as possible with that finger. The thumb and little finger were the fastest. The middle finger brought up the rear. "You might think that this has anatomical reasons or depends on the exercise" said Dr Dinse, "but we were able to rule that out through further tests. In principle, each finger is able to react equally quickly. Only in the selection task, the middle finger is at a distinct disadvantage.".....

 

 

One last chance for tested OD CE on March 11th

One last chance for tested CE on March 11th.

Please note: Test will be administered on site immediately following the last lecture.

The clocks "spring forward" at 2:00 AM Sunday, March 11th.

DO NOT FORGET TO CHANGE YOUR CLOCKS!!

The first lecture begins at 8:30 am. If you are late, you will not get credit.

The Illinois License Renewal Deadline of  March 31, 2012 is approaching fast! Don't miss out on The Illinois College of Optometry's upcoming two full days of  Continuing Education in our state-of-the-art Lecture Center. Online Registration is available. Register today!

March 11, 20127:45-8:30 Registration and Breakfast 8:30 Considerations in Caring for the Keratoconic Patient; Instructor: Renee Reeder, OD, FAAO; 2 Hours TQ 10:10 BREAK 10:30 Demystifying Traumatic Brain Iinjury Eye Exam: A Practical Approach for the Primary Care Optometrist; Instructor: Navjit Sanghera, OD, FAAO; 2 Hours TQ 12:10 LUNCH 1:00 Ocular Emergencies and Urgencies; Instructor: Jennifer Harthan, OD, FAAO; 2 Hours TQ TEST IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE LAST LECTURE Please contact ICO’s Continuing Education office if you have any additional questions at 312-949-7426 or [email protected]. Course includes parking, continental breakfast, lunch, and course materials. Tests will be in multiple-choice format and are optional. All certificates and tests will be mailed out to attendees following the event. One re-take will be permitted. All courses are COPE Approved.

Mom vs the Eye Doctor

Evidence that convergence rather than accommodation controls intermittent distance exotropia.

....Increased vergence demand to control intermittent distance exotropia for near also drives significantly more accommodation. Minus lens therapy is more likely to act by correcting overaccommodation driven by controlling convergence, rather than by inducing blur-driven vergence. The use of convergence as a major drive to accommodation explains many clinical characteristics of distance exotropia, including apparently high near stimulus AC/A ratios....

Decoupling eye and hand movement control: Visual short-term memory influences reach planning more than saccade planning

Decoupling eye and hand movement control: Visual short-term memory influences reach planning more than saccade planning

....When reaching for objects, humans make saccades to fixate the object at or near the time the hand begins to move. ...... Although subjects did not notice the change, the original position of the target, encoded in visual short-term memory, influenced the motor plans for both the hand and the eye back to the target. Memory influenced motor plans for distant targets more than for near targets, indicating that sensorimotor planning is sensitive to the reliability of available information; however, memory had a larger influence on hand movements than on eye movements. This suggests that spatial planning for coordinated saccades and hand movements are dissociated at the level of processing at which online visual information is integrated with information in short-term memory....

Citation: Issen, L. A., & Knill, D. C. (2012). Decoupling eye and hand movement control: Visual short-term memory influences reach planning more than saccade planning. Journal of Vision, 12(1):3, 1-13, http://www.journalofvision.org/content/12/1/3, doi:10.1167/12.1.3.

Comment: Read the full article by clicking here. DM

Optometry & Vision Development vol 43 #1

In the next couple weeks, Optometry & Vision Development vol 43 #1 will become available first online and then in hard copy.This is an open access journal so all are welcome to download and read great articles like...

Watch for an announcement as to when this journal will be available....

Please note that there is a definite conflict of interest here because I am not only the author of this particular article....but also the editor of this particular journal! Optometry & Vision Development is an official of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. DM

Memory Can Be Boosted By Stimulating Brain

 

Screening for Visual Impairment in Children Ages 1-5 Years: Update for the USPSTF

.....Direct evidence on the effectiveness of preschool vision screening for improving visual acuity or other clinical outcomes remains limited and does not adequately address whether screening is more effective than no screening. ....... No study has evaluated school performance or other functional outcomes.....

 Comments: Once again we see a study that says we do not know if vision screenings are any good for what they are supposed to do. Screenings are no longer acceptable for our children. We must make sure every child receives a comprehensive eye and vision examination. Screenings miss too many potentially sight threatening problems. Full examinations are the ONLY way. Stop vision screenings now. They waste money, time and manpower....and result in? Well the point of this and other studies...all of the research is so poor....we do not know what they result in! Stop the madness. DM

Vitamin A Supplementation Improves Retinal Function in Infants at Risk of Retinopathy of Prematurity

.....Early high-dose intramuscular vitamin A supplementation for infants at risk of retinopathy of prematurity improves retinal function at 36 weeks’ postmenstrual age.....